Chapter 26

The Prince refused to grant Buhle's request. He told her that bullying was against palace conduct and should be addressed in a serious manner with no leniency.

"The constitution clearly states bullying should not be addressed lightly. And the lightest sentencing to bullying is to fire the servant. And that is the law I am ruling this case by", declared The Prince.

He dismissed the maids and the guards by his side. The guards and the three girls left, but Buhle stayed behind. She was not pleased. The Prince ignored the stubborn Buhle and went out for a walk in the garden.

Buhle followed behind. When she finally caught up with The Prince, she said; "Fire them?"

He continued walking.

"You cannot fire them!", she yelled running behind him.

The Prince continued walking, he had his hands linked on his back. As he walked, he had a tall masculine frame and his posture eluded that he was not interested in the conversation, but he was smiling on his face, gently and subtly. Buhle could not see the smile, she was behind him, blocked by his broad shoulders. Buhle ran faster and blocked his way. Lwani walked slowly behind the two.

"Do not fire them! Please?", she asked.

"It is not up to me to decide. It is up the constitution", said The Prince.

"But you are The Prince, are you not? Thus, you have the power. It… it all happened in your palace. If you say, 'It did not happen', then it did not happen", Buhle argued, maintaining a coy demeanour.

The Prince went back to walking. Buhle rushed to him.

"Do me this favour. Just this favour. Please?... They have families to take care of. They cannot be let off of work like this. Please, Prince Abasi", she pouted, cutely.

With her sweet stare, she stood looking up at him.

The Prince's heart began to race. There was something weakening in the way she tilted her head up to look at him. To look at his tall self. He quickly looked away. Buhle followed his face, showing him her pout. The Prince looked up, seeing that she was short, he figure that was the best move. Buhle stood on her toes, elevating herself. She got closer to The Prince's face, but it was not enough. She still could not see his face. Her feet moved closer and closer to The Prince.

The Prince peeked to see what she was up to. There she was. Her face very close to his, and the rest of their bodies almost touching. He could feel the girl body heat. The heartbeat of The Prince increased even more. He quickly took a step back. He looked behind to Lwani. Lwani took Buhle away, explaining to her that she was disturbing The Prince and intruding his personal space.

"And also," Lwani said. "Being that close to The Prince is illegal. Especially because you are not his wife. If you were to be seen that close to him, you would be ordered to go on ahead and marry him."

At hearing those last words from Lwani, Buhle felt shyness overwhelm her.

Lwani added with a retort; "And the last I checked, you do not want to marry The Prince. You are that 'Missing maiden' that did not show up at The Prince's Bridal Selection."

The day went by like a wind. Soon it was the evening, the day-shift servants were in their rooms, some were still showering. Buhle was still showering. Her roommates were already in room 112. They chatted;

"I think Buhle was trying protect us", said Sana.

Letho nodded; "I get that same feeling too."

Buhle walked in, she had already transformed. After a few minutes of complete silence, Lebo asked; "What was that about?"

She was glaring at Buhle.

"Was it not obvious?", Buhle asked.

"We do not need you to protect us?" said Lebo.

Buhle stepped towards Lebo, glaring into her eyes, saying; "I was not protecting you. Do not get it twisted… Do you think after becoming my servant, I will take you on a walk to the field of sunflowers?"

Lebo scoffed and stepped back.

"I see, I must have had the wrong impression about you… Fine then. Seven days will be a piece of cake", proclaimed Lebo with a smile.

Buhle smiled and so did the other girls. Although not many words were spoken, it seemed the girls had reconciled.

During that same night, The Prince reminisced in his bed. He was thinking back on his interaction with Buhle during the day. He remembered her jumping to his side and calling him 'her hero'. He smiled.

Completely shy, he clasped his hands on his mouth, covering his smile.

The Prince then remembered Buhle and himself in garden as he pretended to be walking away from her. He remembered her sweetly saying 'Please?'. There was the moment when she stood on her tippytoes to reach his eyes. The Prince reminisced on how close they stood in front of each other. He smiled again. He went back again on the same memory. His favourite part was how close their torsos were to each other. After realizing how naughty those thoughts were, The Prince brushed them off.

But almost involuntary, The Prince was shortly succumbed to another thought of himself and Buhle. He remembered dabbing perfume on Buhle's neck and wrists on the day she had taken a bath in his tub. The Prince interrupted his own moment of reminisce. He wondered to himself;

"Why am I thinking of this?... Why am I thinking of her?"

His following memory was when he summoned her to his palace to finally meet her. This was when he was curious about the 'Missing maiden' and why she did not show up at his bride selection day. He remembered his conversation with her;

...…..

"You were not under the impression that The Prince is a monster, were you not?", questioned The Prince.

Buhle looked up to see The Prince's facial expression so that she could gauge his mood. The young Prince looked at her. It was clear to her, she was safe; he was not in a negative mood at all.

"Am I really that unpleasant to marry?", The Prince asked softly.

Buhle stole a look again. And again, The Prince smiled gently.

"I am sorry", she finally said.

The Prince's smile got larger and brighter, and his teeth showed. "I did not say you should apologize", he spoke through his smile.

Although Buhle kept her sight to the ground, she could tell by the sound of The Prince's voice that he was happy. She could not help it; she smiled a little.

"You should tell me if there is something wrong with me. Is it my face, is it my outfits or perhaps it is my hair?", said The Prince, with a gentle smile.

"No. You are perfect", blurted Buhle.

There was a sudden silence in the room. Prince Abasi was taken aback and so was Lwani. He and Lwani shared a short eyes contact. The short silence made Buhle look up to see what the silence was about. The Prince looked back at her, this time with a poker face. She diffused the situation by adding;

"…My Prince."

...........

The Prince's focus mainly dwelled on the recollection of Buhle saying that he was perfect as she answered his question. He appreciated that complement. Although he understood that she only said that to respond to his question, it still sounded sweet. And he loved remembering it. It humbled him.

The Prince blushed. He covered his face out of embarrassment. He just could not stop smiling.

While he kept blushing to himself, a sudden thought intruded his mind. The Prince remembered that the pretty Buhle he had found unresponsive during the night of the bandit situation was wearing a servant uniform belonging to the servants working at his palace.

He got up from his back and sat up straight. He thought about the matter;

"Why was she wearing the palace uniform? It is impossible to have that uniform without working in the palace. She had the whole attire on, including hair accessories."

The Prince thought hard about the matter, but he could no figure out any answers.

"And… the Buhle working as a maid suddenly appeared here when the other Buhle disappeared. And this is not at the first time…", The Prince thought.

"The other time, I went to Grandpa's farm looking for his granddaughter but I found Buhle, the, now, maid. Could it be… that they are friends and hang around the same places?", The Prince wondered.